Door latch operating mechanism



May 10, 1938. R. E. GALE Doon LATCH OPERATING MECHANISM Filed June 25, 1936 Zzgl Patented May 10, 1938 UNITED STATE-s PATENT OFFICE Robert E. Gale, Sawyerwood, Ohio Application June 23, 1936, Serial No. 86,860

3 Claims.

This invention relates to door latch operating mechanism and has for an object to provide a simplified handle which will be supported for the most part in a depression in a motor vehicle door so as to conform to modern streamline contours, and will present a bar grip outside of the depression in the door which will promote easy, comfortable manipulation of the handle while at the same time will be neat, compact and attractive in appearance.

A further object is to provide a cam on the handle which operates against a roller on a bell crank lever to shift the door latch operating shaft and thus reduce the number of parts in door latch operating mechanism as well as promote the long life and durability of the device.

A further object is to provide a track or guide in which a roller on the bell crank lever rides, thereby preventing rattling and also preventing parts becoming loose and getting out of order.

With the above and other objects in View the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Figure lis a longitudinal sectional View through door latch operating mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention and taken on the irregular section line I--I of Figure 3.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the parts shown in Figure l and showing concealed parts in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, I designates the inside handle, Il the bolt, I2 the bolt operating shaft and I3 the outer wall of the door of a motor vehicle, these parts being conventional.

In carrying out the invention the outer Wall I3 is provided with a recess or depression I4 of the same shape as the outside handle I5 forming part of the invention. The handle is provided with short substantially straight sides I6 which merge into inclined sides Il at the upper ends and the inclined sides are connected by a short bar I8 which is located in the plane of the sides I6 and I'I so as to it within the depression I4 in the vehicle door and be flush with the outer contour of the door, as best shown in Figure 3. The sides I6 are provided in the lower ends with arms I9, shown best in Figure 3, and the outer ends of the arms are connected by a bar 2l] which forms a grip that is disposed outside of the recess 5 I4 so as to be conveniently grasped by the fingers to rock the handle outwardly and upwardly on its pivot pin 2|.

The pivot pin 2| is passed through an opening 22 in the bar I8 and is secured at the ends in 10 bosses 23 formed in the walls of the depression I4. Below the pivot pin the bar I8 is provided with a cam 24 the lower edge of which extends perpendicular to the rear wall of the depression when the handle is in neutral position, as shown in Figure 3. When the handle is rocked outwardly on the pivot as shown in this figure, the cam will move downwardly as indicated by dotted lines.

A bell crank lever 25 is mounted at its elbow 20 on a pivot pin 26 secured to the rear wall of the depression as best shown in Figure 2, the upper end of the bell crank lever being pivotally connected by a pivot pin 21 to the bifurcated end 28 of a link 29, best shown in Figure 1. The link 25 is bifurcated at the opposite end as shown at 30, and is pivotally connected as shown at 3l to a crank arm 32 which is formed integral with the door latch operating shaft I2.

The lower leg of the bell crank lever is equipped with a rod 33 which forms a bearing for a roller 34 upon which the cam 24 rides, and thus friction between the cam and the bell crank lever is reduced to a minimum. A second roller 35 is mounted on the pin 33 and rides in a track formed 35 by a Z-guide 36 which is secured at the upper end in any preferred manner to the rear wall of the depression I4. The roller 35 holds the various parts in their normal alignment and prevents rattling, as well as preventing any of the 40 parts being dislodged and thus promote good working order at all times.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

1. A bolt operating means comprising a bolt operating shaft, a pivoted handle, a cam on the handle, a bell crank lever connected to the bolt operating shaft for rocking the bolt operating shaft, a roller on the free leg of the bell crank lever against which the cam impinges to rock the bell crank lever when the handle is rocked on its pivot, and a stationary track for guiding the roller` during rocking movement of the bell crank lever.

2. A bolt operating means comprising a bolt operating shaft, a bar grip handle having a bearing opposite the bar thereof, a pivot in the bearing, a bell cranklever connected to the bolt operating shaft for rocking the bolt operating shaft, a roller on the free leg of the bell crank lever, and a cam on the bearing of the handle engaging the roller and adapted to rock the bell crank lever to rotate the bolt operating shaft when the handle is rocked on its pivot.

3. A bolt operating means comprising a bolt operating shaft, -a handle pivoted at the upper end, the handle having spaced arms, a bar connecting the arms and forming a grip for rocking the handle on its pivot, a bell crank lever connected to the bolt operating shaft for rocking the bolt operating shaft, a cam on the pivoted upper end of the handle, a pin on the free leg of the bell crank lever, a roller on the pin adapted to be engaged by the cam to rock the bell crank lever for rotating the bolt operating shaft when the handle is rocked on its pivot, a second roller on said pin, and a stationary track in which the second named roller rides.

ROBERT E. GALE. 

